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UF/IFAS Webteam
webteam@ifas.ufl.edu 

What is Blogs.IFAS.ufl.edu?

Blogs.IFAS is a strategic communications digital space that serves as a platform for UF/IFAS Extension, Teaching, and Research employees to directly post content to share with their clients and stakeholders. If you have not taken a tour of Blogs.IFAS we encourage you to do so. We currently have more than 700 bloggers feeding content regularly into more than 100 blogs! Below you will find some helpful links:

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  • Blogs.IFAS 2.0

    IFAS Web Services is thrilled to announce the launch of Blogs.IFAS 2.0. We’ve updated the look and feel and added features that will allow greater interaction to encourage readers to browse and read more of the amazing blog content you all have created!

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    Blogs.IFAS 2.0 Features & Functionality Training: https://mediasite.video.ufl.edu/Mediasite/Play/3c6449e563164305acacba922beb15f21d

    This training includes: 

    • Adding co-authors and guest authors
    • Adding a blog series to your author bio page
    • Accessing statistics for ‘hearts’ on your blog post
    • Accessing statistics for video plays on videos embedded on your blog post

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    Many of the improvements for Blogs.IFAS 2.0 were “under the hood”, including coding the site in HTML5, improving accessibility, improving YouTube analytics tracking, and other performance enhancements. These improvements help ensure that users can find our blog, use our blog, and stay on our blog.  

    And many of the updates you can see achieve these same goals, as well! We have updated the look to be sleek and modern to ensure users know that this site has fresh content.

    The navigation is re-designed to retain more users and encourage browsing.

    blog navigation

    The homepage includes more blog posts and a new section for Featured Blogger, to highlight our bloggers on a weekly basis and give readers a chance to see the people behind the posts.

    blog homepage

    On blog posts pages, readers now have the opportunity to interact in a new way…with our new “heart” button!

    blog post heart button

    In addition, related posts will be displayed below blog posts to encourage readers to explore more Blogs.IFAS content.

    On Author Bio Pages, bloggers now have the option to include a Subscribe button that is unique to their blog posts, allowing subscribers to get updates on their posts. Also, if the blogger has written or participated in any blog series, they are displayed on their Bio Page distinctly below their posts.

    featured blogger

    Authors will also now have the ability to be listed as co-authors on a single blog post.

    co authors

  • How Do I Become a Blogger?

    Three simple steps!

    • Submit a request to be added to blogger training. You will receive a response with instructions to take an online training course at your leisure.
    • Once you finish, e-mail webteam@ifas.ufl.edu again and tell them you'd like to be added to your blog. 
    • Write your author profile, upload your profile image or avatar, and start blogging! 

    Read more about Getting Started on Blogs.IFAS.

  • Blogging Best Practices 2024

    Bloggers who meet blogging basics criteria under Blogs.IFAS:

    • Write about their expertise or discipline.

    • Complete their author profile.

    • Publish posts.

    • Label posts with tags and categories (The Blog Tag Lexicon lists commonly used tags that you can assign your posts.).

    • Resize and/or crop images, which includes meeting the size requirement for featured images (1650x470 pixels).

    Follow these best practices to ensure your content stands out and attracts high engagement.

    1. Choose a trending topic or an interesting topic that few people have heard about. (See the Search Console report in your unit blog's D.A.D. Dashboard.)

    2. Use language that is conversational but still informative.

    3. Break up text into smaller paragraphs.

    4. Add headings to create sections within long posts, which organizes the content and provides a better reading experience.

    5. Add images throughout the text to create interest.

    6. Include a caption + credit line under each image used in the body of the post (For featured images, add a credit line only in the bottom of the post).

    7. Label posts with the correct tags and categories, which helps with ranking in search engines and makes it easier for people to find your content.

    8. Share posts via social media, newsletter, etc.

  • How Do I Crop Photos for My Blog Posts?

    Featured images on blog posts must be 1650x470 pixels. Reach out to webteam@ifas.ufl.edu if you encounter any issue uploading your featured image. 

    A variety of photo editing tools can be used to crop your photos to the required size. For many of these tools, our team has developed video tutorials to help guide you through the process: 

     

  • What Images Can I Use in My Blog Posts?

    Photo Release Form

  • Author Profile

    Having an author profile can boost your readership and let readers know a little about you. Here are our recommendations for a great author profile, including how to format your email to avoid spam.

    • Author profiles should: 

      • Be complete sentences

      • Be in the third person

      • (optional) End with preferred contact information

        • Email, formatted: name [at] ufl [dot] edu or 

        • Social media handles

      • Include a profile photo or avatar 

    If you have a blog series, it will display below your blog posts. Reach out to webteam@ifas.ufl.edu for more information on developing a unique blog series tag and displaying your blog series on your Author Bio Page. 

    featured blogger

    You can edit your profile by clicking on your username in the upper-right corner when you are logged in to WordPress. Biographical Info is your profile and your Avatar is your profile image. 

     

     

  • Blog Tags

    The tags you assign to your blog post will help search engines to better understand what your post is about.

    For a list of commonly used tags and their importance, check out the UF/IFAS Blog Tag Lexicon.  

    • Blog Tag Tips
      • Tags can be a keyword or keyphrase (these words/phrases would also be found within your post)
      • Recommend 3-7 tags per post
      • Avoid repetitive variation (ie, horse, horses, equine. Stick with just one.)
      • Use author name as a tag to promote yourself or the author for whom you are posting
  • Blog Categories

    The categories you assign to your blog post determine where your post is organized: 

    • Blog Category Goals
      • These categories will allow your post to appear when users select a Category in the "Browse by Category" page.
      • The cateogories also allow your posts to appear in the digest when users subscribe by category. 
      • If you are a County agent, selecting a major category allows your blog post to appear in your County's SFYL homepage blog feed. 
    • Blog Category Tips
      • You can select one or more categories and subcategories.
      • Don't forget to de-select "Change Category". 
      • Don't use the category "Uncatogorized". 

     

  • Promote Your Blog Posts on Social Media

    After you write a blog post, we encourage you to promote it on your social media accounts.

    Tag the UF/IFAS social media accounts in your posts

    • Facebook: @UFIFASNews

    • Twitter: @UF_IFAS

    • Instagram: @ufifas_solutions

    • YouTube: @IFASVideo

    Also, here are some great hashtags to include in your posts!

    • UF/IFAS Anytime Hashtags

      • #UFIFAS, #IFASExtension, #IFASResearch, #IFASAtWork

    For more hashtag recommendations, check out the UF/IFAS Hashtag listing.

  • Blog Analytics

    The webteam already has analytics running on your blog, so, if you would like to access them go to https://branding.ifas.ufl.edu/dad/.

  • Video Tips for Bloggers

    Adding Video Content to Your Blog

    The best way to include a video in your blog post is to first upload it to YouTube (if your unit does not already have a YouTube account you can create one for free), then you can easily embed the video within your blog. This has the added bonus of YouTube captioning your video for you, providing ADA compliance and allowing users to turn on captions when needed.  

    • How to Embed Video in Your Blog Post:
      • Navigate to the YouTube video in your browser.
      • Copy the URL from the browser window.
      • Paste the URL in your blog post. 
      • Note: This can be done for videos and video playlists. 

    Viewing Analytics for Videos

    You can check the completion rates of your videos to determine how successful they are using the Video Event Report in your unit's Blog D.A.D. Dashboard.

    Recording & Editing Videos for a Blog

    You may want to edit out the first few seconds of your video--perhaps you were getting your camera set up or you were giving attendees extra time to arrive for a live stream. Check out the following video tutorials for great ways to trim out unnecessary video content and help keep viewers engaged! 

     Recording & Posting an iPhone Video: 

    Recording & Posting a Zoom Meeting:

    VIDEO TIPS For Bloggers Webinar

    UF/IFAS YouTube Channels

    Visit the UF/IFAS YouTube Channels for videos you can include in your blog posts related to your content. 

  • Accessibility / ADA Compliance

    Follow these tips when writing your blogs to ensure that all users can read them: 

    • All images that you upload (including featured image and images placed within blog posts) should include an "alternative text". Screen readers will use this alt text for visually impared users to communicate the content of the image, so ensure that the alternative text is descriptive. 

      • Alt text also helps search engines index your images. 

    • Use headings to organize your post

      • Screen readers use these headings to jump through the page to help the user determine which section to read. 

    • Use PDFs that are ADA compliant if embedding into a blog post

    • For more information on ADA compliance, check out this ADA compliance webinar

  • What to Blog About

    Have you ever struggled to come up with topics for your blog posts? Try out these...

    Top 5 Blog Brainstorming Questions!

    1. What do your colleagues want to talk about?
    2. What blog post title would catch your eye?
    3. What blog post would you share on your social media?
    4. What is something inspiring or funny you’d like to read about?
    5. What is a process that you wish you’d had a guide to help you through?

    For more tips on what to blog about and which blog formats perform better than others, check out this blog post or this guide: What to Blog About.

    For more ideas for your blog, check out the Blog Events Calendar, also at the bottom of this page! 

  • Master Gardener Blog

    To ensure your blog post appears in the Master Gardener blog, all Master Gardeners should tag their posts with the tag "Master Gardener Volunteer". For bloggers with non-ufl.edu email addresses, the Master Gardener Coordinator will post their blogs on their behalf. New Master Gardener Coordinators can submit a Web Services Request to set up this access.  

    Tag: Master Gardener Volunteer

  • Florida Sea Grant

    All Florida Sea Grant agents should include these categories and tags on their content to maximize post visibility:

    • Category: Natural Resources
    • Subcategory: Coasts and Marine
    • Tag: Florida Sea Grant
  • Florida 4-H

    All Florida 4-H agents should include these categories and tags on their content to maximize post visibility:

    • Category: 4-H & Youth
    • Subcategory: Camp, Curriculum, Clubs & Volunteers
  • Florida Master Naturalist Blog

    To ensure your blog post appears in the Florida Master Naturalist blog, tag your post with the tag "Florida Master Naturalist Program" and/or "FMNP". 

    Tag: Florida Master Naturalist Program, FMNP

  • How Do I Create a Blog Series?

    Writing a blog series is a great way to break up content into easy-to-digest posts and get readers excited about upcoming content. Here are the ways to identify a post as part of a series. 

    Follow this guide: Create a Blog Series and Add to Your Author Profile.

    A post that is part of a blog series will have one or all of the following: 

    *A series is required to have a unique tag to identify the series. Ensure your tag is unique enough to only capture your blog series. Reach out to webteam@ifas.ufl.edu for guidance on developing your series' tag. 

    Reach out to webteam@ifas.ufl.edu to ensure our series appear on your Author Bio Page! 

  • En Español Blogging Guide

    When publishing posts in more than one language on the same day, use featured images that are different from each other but share a similar theme (i.e. different images from the same photo shoot via UF/IFAS photo database). This allows them to stand out in blog feeds across UF/IFAS websites and lets readers know that the posts are related. See our Multi-Language Posts Guide for more on posts published in different languages.

    To ensure your blog post appears in the En Español blog, tag your posts with "Espanol". Bloggers should include accent marks where possible on posts. To add special characters, follow the steps in the screenshot below when editing your posts.

    Tag: Espanol

    Espanol Special Characters Wordpress Classic Editor For Bloggers